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☆ Activists rally, some governments seek change as world marks Women's Day
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/4] Demonstrators take part in a march to call for gender equality and protest against gender discrimination, marking the International Women's Day in Tokyo, Japan March 8, 2021. REUTERS/Issei KatoMarch 8 (Reuters) - Activists planned rallies and marches to celebrate International Women's Day on Wednesday while governments in several countries promised action to help improve the lot of half the world's population. International Women's Day has its roots in the U.S. socialist and labour movements of the early 20th century when many women were fighting for better working conditions and the right to vote. In Russia, where International Women's Day is one of the most celebrated public holidays, the head of its upper house of parliament used the occasion to launch a vehement attack on sexual minorities and liberal values promoted by the West. Reporting by Reuters bureaus; Writing by Raju Gopalakrishnan; Editing by Robert BirselOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Italy's Meloni wants woman to head state-controlled company for first time
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ROME, March 7 (Reuters) - Italy's state-controlled companies should have at least one leader who is a woman, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Tuesday, ahead of appointments at key firms such as ENI (ENI.MI), Enel (ENEI.MI), Poste Italiane (PST.MI) and Leonardo (LDOF.MI). "The challenge is not how many women sit on a board of directors, the challenge is when will we have the first woman chief executive in a state-controlled company," Meloni said at an event in parliament. Meloni, 46, is Italy's first female prime minister. Her right-wing government, which took office in October, is expected to decide on chairperson and CEO positions at major state-controlled companies by the end of the month, sources have said. Reporting by Alvise Armellini, editing by Kirsten DonovanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Italy may have staved off recession, economy minister says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Giuseppe Fonte | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

However, he did warn that European Central Bank rate rises would pose "serious problems" for high-debt countries such as Italy. An economic recession is widely defined as two consecutive quarters of declining GDP and the euro zone's third largest economy shrank 0.1% in the fourth quarter of 2022 from the previous three months. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's administration is due to unveil its new growth estimates and public finance targets next month. Annual growth is now expected at almost 1%, up from the 0.6% target set in November, a Treasury official has previously said. With the European Central Bank (ECB) raising interest rates, Giorgetti said Italy should keep following a "cautious and responsible" fiscal policy in order to lower its public debt.

☆ Telecom Italia boosted by rival offer for landline grid
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Elvira Pollina | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

TIM is betting on a sale of its most prized asset to cut its 25 billion euros debt pile and fund an overhaul of the revenue-starved group. Both offers value TIM's grid, which is Italy's main piece of telecoms infrastructure, in the region of 18 billion euros ($19.2 billion), sources familiar with the matter said. "The news is positive for TIM as a second approach increases its bargaining power," broker Equita wrote in a research note. The shares were up around 3.5% at 0.32 euros at 0900 GMT, levels not seen since last April. Regulation issues remain a hurdle for the new bidders, as CDP and Macquarie own TIM'smaller rival Open Fiber.

CDP has teamed up with Australian infrastructure fund Macquarie (MQG.AX) to bid for Italy's most important telecommunications infrastructure, for which U.S. investment firm KKR (KKR.N) has already presented an offer. One of the people familiar with the matter said that CDP board members were set to meet at 3 p.m. (1400 GMT) to approve the offer. In recent weeks, sources have told Reuters that CDP-Macquarie and KKR have both set an 18-billion-euro ($19 billion) enterprise value for TIM's grid. CDP's offer would also involve TIM's smaller fibre-optic network rival Open Fiber, which is owned by CDP and Macquarie and would be folded into TIM's grid down the road. Under Italian rules, Rome has the power to block unwanted interest for assets of strategic importance such as TIM's grid.

☆ Stop human traffickers, Pope Francis says after Italy's migrant shipwreck
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

VATICAN CITY, March 5 (Reuters) - Pope Francis on Sunday called on authorities to stop human traffickers operating in the Mediterranean, as he expressed his sorrow over last week's migrant boat disaster off Italy's Calabrian coast, in which dozens of people were killed. May traffickers of human beings be stopped," the pope said in his weekly address to crowds in St. Peter's Square. Three alleged traffickers were arrested this week and prosecutors began looking into the way emergency services responded to the disaster, after accusations that authorities were slow to react. "I pray for the many victims of the shipwreck, for their families and for those who survived," the pope said. The government was "continuing to deploy all necessary forces to combat human traffickers and stop deaths at sea," she said in a post on Facebook.

CDP has teamed up with Australian infrastructure fund Macquarie (MQG.AX) in the offer for Italy's most important telecommunications infrastructure, which would compete with one submitted by U.S. investment firm KKR (KKR.N). In recent weeks, sources have told Reuters that CDP and Macquarie were ready to value TIM's grid at around 18 billion euros ($19 billion), including some 6 billion euros of debt. An offer from CDP and Macquarie leaves several scenarios open, two government officials said, without elaborating. Besides owning 10% of TIM, CDP controls fibre optic rival Open Fiber. Meloni's predecessors, Mario Draghi and Giuseppe Conte, have both backed plans to combine TIM's and Open Fiber's grids.

☆ Italy close to approve CDP, Macquarie bid for TIM's grid- Bloomberg News
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 4 (Reuters) - Italy is close to granting preliminary approval to a multibillion-euro offer by state lender CDP and Macquarie Group (MQG.AX) for Telecom Italia's (TLIT.MI) landline network, Bloomberg News reported on Saturday citing people familiar with the matter. Acceptance of the bid by CDP and Australia's Macquarie could be announced this month, the report said, adding that a final determination hasn't been made. The news comes after TIM said last month an offer for its network grid tabled by U.S fund KKR & Co Inc (KKR.N) "does not wholly reflect the value of the asset". Meloni's administration wants to secure public control of TIM's grid, but there is no common ground within the government on how to achieve this. CDP and Telecom Italia did not immediately respond to a Reuters' request for comment.

☆ CORRECTED Italy's Meloni says on track to rebuild 'excellent' relations with UAE
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"I think discussions this morning went very, very well and we're going back to a strategic partnership. Italy historically had very strong relations with UAE which in recent years experienced serious difficulties," Meloni told reporters in Abu Dhabi. Italy in 2021 halted the sale of thousands of missiles to Saudi Arabia and the UAE, citing Rome's commitment to restoring peace in Yemen. "On all these matters Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed has expressed his willingness to help," Meloni said. "I think there is a strong will on both sides to rebuild not just good but excellent relations, a friendship, which I think is very important for our national interest."

☆ Italian prosecutors probe response to migrant tragedy
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Angelo Amante | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The same request has been made to the Coast Guard, Italian media reported. There was no immediate comment from the Coast Guard or the prosecutors. Italian President Sergio Mattarella visited survivors in a local hospital on Thursday, handing out toys to children. Frontex said the boat was sailing without signs of distress but it alerted the Italian authorities as its thermal cameras indicated there could be a number of people below deck. Media have questioned why the Coast Guard, whose vessels are better equipped to face rough seas, was not deployed until it received an emergency call the next morning.

Monte dei Paschi (MPS), which raised capital last year, needs to merge with a stronger rival to cement its turnaround. Banco BPM CEO Giuseppe Castagna, who faces pressure from shareholders to reject an MPS deal, has repeatedly said the Tuscan bank is too large for Banco BPM to integrate. A Banco BPM spokesperson said nothing had changed in this respect. HURDLESA Banco BPM and MPS tie-up would pose major hurdles, another three sources said separately. Banco BPM investors are also concerned about an expansion into regions of the country where economic growth is much weaker compared with the bank's wealthy home base in the north, one of the sources said.

CROTONE, Italy, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Rescuers pulled the body of a man out of the sea on Tuesday, raising the death toll from a migrant shipwreck near the southern Italian coast to at least 64, including about 14 children. Rescuers said most of the migrants came from Afghanistan, as well as from countries including Iran, Somalia and Syria. Pakistan's foreign ministry said 20 Pakistani citizens had been on the boat, and 16 of them had survived but four were missing. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said in an interview on Monday that she had written to European Union institutions calling for immediate action by the bloc to stop migrant boat trips so as to prevent more deaths. Reporting by Angelo Amante, Remo Casilli writing by Cristina Carlevaro, editing by Keith Weir and Bernadette BaumOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Ukraine envoy is optimistic Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will visit Kyiv before May
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Jihye Lee | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

SINGAPORE — Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will likely visit Ukraine's capital before the G-7 Hiroshima Summit, Ukraine's ambassador to Japan Sergiy Korsunsky told CNBC. Following U.S. President Joe Biden's surprise visit, Kishida is the only leader left among the Group of Seven who has not visited Ukraine since Russia invaded last year. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak have all visited. Kishida's trip would make him the second Asian leader after Indonesian President Joko Widodo's visit in June last year. "We want this to happen as soon as possible," said Korsunsky, adding he cannot make details surrounding the discussions of the trip public.

Speaking after hosting talks in Brussels between Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti, Borrell said the leaders agreed "no further discussions" are needed on the deal between the former wartime foes. But Serbia still regards Kosovo as a breakaway province and flare-ups between the Balkan neighbours have stoked fears of a return to conflict. Under the new deal, Serbia stops short of recognising Kosovo as an independent state but agrees to recognise official documents such as passports, diplomas and licence plates and not to block Kosovo's membership of any international organisation. Borrell said the annex was an "integral part" of the new deal but it had not yet been agreed. Vucic has insisted Kosovo establish an association of Serb-majority municipalities, as agreed by a previous Kosovo government.

☆ In surprise result, Italy's left picks Elly Schlein to rebuild party
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Crispian Balmer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

ROME, Feb 26 (Reuters) - Italy's opposition centre-left Democratic Party (PD) picked Elly Schlein, a 37-year-old U.S.-Italian national who grew up in Switzerland, to be its new leader and rebuild the group after its election rout last year. Schlein will lead opposition in parliament to Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, with two women for the first time in Italian history heading the country's two main parties. Although she has promised a new start for the party, many of the PD's grandees have rallied behind her in recent weeks. Polls suggested he would easily beat Schlein, but in the end he only drew strong backing in the more traditionalist south. Schlein faces a monumental struggle if she hopes to heal divisions within her party and beat Meloni's conservative bloc in the next national election in 2027.

☆ Italy seeks 6 billion euros from REPowerEU plan, more time to spend COVID funds -sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Giuseppe Fonte | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Aimed at ending the EU's dependence on Russian fossil fuels and tackling the climate crisis, REPowerEU is funded through some 225 billion euros of untapped loans made available under the EU recovery plan launched in 2021. Italy believes it can get at least 2.7 billion euros from the ETS resources and 3 billion euros from the cohesion funds, one of the sources said. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's administration plans to complete talks with Brussels on Rome's proposed use of the EU funds by the end of April. Italy is behind schedule in actually using the recovery funds. Its initial timetable envisaged spending more than 40 billion euros' worth by 2022 but this estimate was revised downwards several times and in December was set below 20 billion euros.

☆ Dozens of migrants, including a baby, killed after their overloaded boat was shipwrecked off the coast of Italy
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-26 | by ( Bethany Dawson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

45 migrants have died trying to reach Italy in a small boat. Up to 180 people are believed to have been aboard when the wooden boat hit rocks. The boat, carrying between 150 and 180 people, broke in half after crashing into a rock in rough seas as it approached Crotone, southern Italy. According to a statement from Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, the boat was just 20 meters (65 feet) long. Earlier this month, a small boat crossing in Italy o the small island of Lampedusa and carrying a mother and baby among a group of 10 people was lost at sea, Reuters reported.

☆ Factbox: Migrant arrivals in Italy on the rise, despite high danger
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Some 861 of the migrants registered this year were unaccompanied minors. In 2022, 105,129 migrants reached Italy in total, up from 67,477 in 2021 and 34,154 in 2020. Some 13,386 of the migrants in 2022 were registered as unaccompanied minors. The U.N. refugee agency (UNHCR) said in 2022 51% of migrant sea crossings to Italy departed from Libya, 31% from Tunisia and 15% from Turkey. Migrant arrivals stayed low in subsequent years, partly as a result of the COVID pandemic.

☆ Migrant boat breaks apart off Italy; dozens are dead, 80 survive
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-26 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Rescuers recover a body after a migrant boat broke apart in rough seas, at a beach near Cutro, southern Italy, Sunday, Feb. 26, 2023. Rescue officials say an undetermined number of migrants have died and dozens have been rescued after their boat broke apart off southern Italy. The Italian Coast Guard said at least 80 people were found alive, "some of whom succeeded in reaching the shore after the shipwreck." One survivor was taken into custody for questioning after survivors indicated he was a trafficker, Rai state TV said. "It's an enormous tragedy," Crotone Mayor Vincenzo Voce told RAI state TV.

☆ Beaten and divided, Italy's centre-left seeks new leader
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Crispian Balmer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/3] Centre-left Democratic Party (PD) supporters gather during the electoral campaign closing event of Enrico Letta, secretary of PD, in Piazza del Popolo, ahead of the general election, in Rome, Italy, September 23, 2022. REUTERS/Guglielmo MangiapaneSummary Italy's PD looking to recover after 2022 election defeatParty seeks ninth leader in just 16 yearsModerate regional president faces young left-wingerROME, Feb 24 (Reuters) - Italy's centre-left Democratic Party (PD) will chose a new leader this weekend who it hopes can pull the group out of a tail spin and provide a credible challenge to the nationalist prime minister, Giorgia Meloni. PD supporters will have to pick between two starkly different candidates who offer opposing views on how to revive the party after a string of crushing election defeats. He promotes himself as a sound administrator and proven vote winner, who would seek cross-party alliances to defeat the ruling right-wing coalition. Makeshift voting booths are being set up across the country and PD officials hope at least a million people take part.

BERLIN, Feb 24 (Reuters) - Ukraine allies around the world lit up landmark monuments, held vigils and prepared new sanctions in a collective show of support on the first anniversary of Russia's invasion. Polish Premier Mateusz Morawiecki went to Kyiv and, together with Ukraine's prime minister, laid flowers at the Wall of Remembrance of those who died for Ukraine. The United States marked the anniversary by announcing new sanctions against Russia and its allies, new export controls and tariffs aimed at undermining Moscow's ability to wage war. EU institutions were also lit in Ukrainian colours, along with the Sydney Opera House. Kyiv says there can be no peace until Russia, which denies intentionally targeting civilians, withdraws.

☆ Italy approves clampdown on migrant rescue ships
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Angelo Amante | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The new set of rules is part of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's efforts to crack down on the rescue vessels, which her government says encourage people to make the perilous trip across the Mediterranean from northern Africa. Charities deny this, saying migrants set to sea regardless of whether rescue boats are in the vicinity. Under the new law, ships have to request access to a port and sail to it "without delay" after a rescue, rather than remain at sea looking for other migrant boats in distress, and disclose detailed information about their rescue activities. The Roman Catholic Church in Italy last month said the new measures violated international law and should be scrapped. Government data shows 12,667 people have reached Italy so far this year, more than double the same period of 2022.

Meloni's administration wants to secure public control of TIM's grid, but there is no common ground within the government on how to achieve this. KKR, which has already invested 1.8 billion euros ($1.9 billion)on TIM's grid, has now bid for a controlling stake in a unit comprising the entire TIM's domestic fixed access network and submarine cable business Sparkle. Ceding control of TIM's grid is a main plank of TIM Chief Executive Pietro Labriola's efforts to cut the former phone monopoly's 25 billion euro net debt and revamp its struggling domestic business. TIM's confirmed its board would meet on Friday to discuss KKR's offer and "take appropriate decisions". CDP's potential offer has been hampered in part by regulatory concerns given it is the main investor in TIM's fibre-optic rival Open Fiber, people familiar with the matter said.

[1/2] Builders work at the construction site of an energy-saving building, making apartments more energy-efficient under the government's "superbonus" incentives, in Rome Italy, February 1, 2023. Banks have said there are more tax credits in circulation than they can deduct from their own tax bills. "We want to persuade the banks and other players to take all the stranded credits," Meloni said at the weekend, defending her decision to suddenly end further payments via tax credits. The move was triggered by an EU decision to include the tax credits in deficit calculations, potentially blowing budget plans dramatically off course. "If we had left the superbonus as it is, we would have had no money left in the budget for anything else," Meloni said.

☆ Russia's war on Ukraine latest: Putin gives nuclear warning, Biden rallies allies
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/7] Russia's President Vladimir Putin takes part in an event marking Gazprom's 30th anniversary, via video link at a residence outside Moscow, Russia February 17, 2023. Feb 21 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday delivered a nuclear warning to the West over Ukraine, suspending a bilateral nuclear arms control treaty, announcing new strategic systems were on combat duty and warning that Moscow could resume nuclear tests. DIPLOMACY* "One year ago, the world was bracing for the fall of Kyiv," Biden said at Warsaw's Royal Castle. "I can report: Kyiv stands strong, Kyiv stands proud, it stands tall and, most important, it stands free." * A year on from Russia's invasion, Ukraine and its government have not just survived.

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